Conduit support apparatus

Abstract

A pipe and tube fixed support is provided including a housing consisting of an upper and lower housing with an offset hinge on one side and an offset opening on an opposing side. The offset feature of the support is defined by a coupling plane which is angled relative to a vertical and horizontal axis further defined about a mounting point on the support.

1 . A pipe supporting apparatus comprising:
 an upper housing and a lower housing defining a pipe passage therebetween;   a mounting part connected to one of the upper and lower housing for mounting the pipe supporting apparatus to a fixture;   a hinge connecting a first end portion of the upper housing to a respective first end portion of the lower housing about a hinge axis;   a coupling member for coupling a second end portion of the upper housing to a second end portion of the lower housing at an engagement point; and   wherein at least one of the hinge axis and the engagement point are circumferentially spaced greater than ninety degrees from the mounting part.   
     
     
         2 . The pipe supporting apparatus as set forth in  claim 1  wherein the hinge axis is circumferentially spaced greater than ninety degrees from the mounting part and the engagement point is circumferentially spaced less than ninety degrees from the mounting point. 
     
     
         3 . The pipe supporting apparatus as set forth in  claim 1  wherein the hinge axis is circumferentially spaced less than ninety degrees from the mounting part and the engagement point is circumferentially spaced greater than ninety degrees from the mounting point. 
     
     
         4 . The pipe supporting apparatus as set forth in  claim 1  further comprising a support axis extending centrally through the mounting part and the support axis is spaced circumferentially closer to one of the first end portion and the second end portion of the upper housing than the respective other of the opposing first and second end portions. 
     
     
         5 . The pipe supporting apparatus as set forth in  claim 4  wherein a dividing plane between the upper housing and the lower housing is non-perpendicularly oriented relative to the support axis. 
     
     
         6 . The pipe supporting apparatus as set forth in  claim 5  further comprising an elastomeric liner extending substantially circumferentially about a diameter of the pipe passage, the elastomeric liner having a separation line coinciding with the non-perpendicularly oriented dividing plane between the upper and the lower housing. 
     
     
         7 . The pipe supporting apparatus as set forth in  claim 4  further comprising a coupling bolt for securing the second end portion of the upper housing to the second end portion of the lower housing along a coupling axis non-parallel aligned with the support axis. 
     
     
         8 . The pipe supporting apparatus as set forth in  claim 4  further comprising a first configuration of the pipe support apparatus where the support axis depends vertically from a ceiling, a second configuration where the support axis extends horizontally from a wall, and a third configuration where the support axis extends vertically from a floor. 
     
     
         9 . The pipe supporting apparatus as set forth in  claim 8  wherein when said lower housing is coupled to said upper housing in either the first second or third configuration of the pipe supporting apparatus no portion of the upper or lower housing presents a horizontal planar surface. 
     
     
         10 . A hanger for supporting a conduit, the hanger comprising:
 an upper housing defining an upper conduit engaging area;   a lower housing defining a lower conduit engaging area;   a mounting device defining a support axis positioned off-center along a circumferential length of the upper housing for supporting the hanger relative to a supporting structure wherein a linear split between the upper housing and the lower housing is non-perpendicular aligned relative to the support axis.   
     
     
         11 . A pipe and tube support comprising:
 an upper housing demountably connected to a lower housing along an axis of separation non-perpendicularly aligned to a mounting axis connecting the upper housing to a support structure.   
     
     
         12 . The pipe and tube support as set forth in  claim 11  further comprising a mounting point located on the upper housing defining the mounting axis aligned in one of a horizontal axis and a vertical axis relative to gravitational pull. 
     
     
         13 . The pipe and tube support as set forth in  claim 12  further comprising a pipe passage defined between the upper housing and the lower housing and a separable liner supported therein. 
     
     
         14 . The pipe and tube support as set forth in  claim 12  further comprising a connection bolt aligned along a connection axis spaced from both the horizontal and vertical axis for demountably coupling at least one end of the upper housing and the lower housing together. 
     
     
         15 . The pipe and tube support as set forth in  claim 14  further comprising a hinge axis aligned perpendicular to and intersecting the axis of separation and spaced from the horizontal axis and vertical axis. 
     
     
         16 . The pipe and tube support as set forth in  claim 11  further comprising a securing bolt being captively retained within a stepped bore of the lower housing for securing the upper and lower housings of the pipe and tube support together. 
     
     
         17 . The pipe and tube support as set forth in  claim 16  wherein the securing bolt is provided with a bolt head, an intermediate stem portion and a threaded end portion and the intermediate stem portion has a smaller diameter than the bolt head and the threaded end portion. 
     
     
         18 . The pipe and tube support as set forth in  claim 17  wherein the stepped bore comprises a threaded bore neck and a main bore wherein the threaded bore neck has threads of a mating configuration with the threaded end portion of the securing bolt. 
     
     
         19 . The pipe and tube support as set forth in  claim 11  wherein the support further comprises a separate liner demountably retained within each of the upper and lower housings and the liner is provided with an antimicrobial agent.